What the Art Teacher Wore #128

 Merry Monday!: I mean, a day without schoolin' is most certainly "merry", amirate?! By the way, this outfit was thrifted (well with the exception of the tights cuz, like, ew). Can you believe that? Okay, so not the Hunter boots cuz that'd be like a miracle. blouse and skirt: thrifted; sweater: vintage, thrifted; boots: Hunter, ebay

Hey, strangers! It feels kinda weird that I've not chatted with you in a coupla days. I mean, that whole blogging daily thing, whilst a wee bit taxing, was so fun. I loved being able to overload you with my backlog posts and giveaway some goodies. But what I especially loved was hearing from so many of you! It's so easy to glance at blogs and move on to the next without dropping a line. I'm toootally guilty of it. But as a person who throws her goofball ideas out to the interwebs, it's nice to hear a response. So, thanks, kids! 

I'm excited about what's in store on this here blog in the next coupla months. I plan to restart the Artsy Book Club (book announcement as well as a book giveaway coming very soon) as well as the Artsy Sewing Along. I do hope y'all will join the funness. Stay tuned for deets. 

Oh! I almost forgot! The winner of the final giveaway is...Rebecca Ednie! Thank y'all so much for playing along. You're the bestest. Until next time, have a great week, kids.

OOooooohhhh, and one last thing. Can we please talk about the satanic elephant that's in the room? Look over to the right of your monitor, wouldya? I'm at "666" followers. Please make it so this isn't the Blog of the Beast, would you kindly? Just a click on the "join this site" would make my day so grand and demonic free. 

Christmas Eve Eve Tuesday: I do believe this here is one of my very first vintage purchases. I picked it up in college whilst attending The Greatest University on the Planet (otherwise known as Indiana University, in case you didn't know). One of my fave all time vintage joints in Bloomington is the Cactus Flower which is were I scored this frock so many years ago. sweater and dress: vintage; belt: Anthropologie

Christmas Eve Wednesday: The hub and I headed to Birmingham, Alabama to visit the fam. We didn't take our lil fur ball with us. She was left to hold down the fort and knock super expensive vintage ornaments off the super expensive vintage tree. Thanks, kitty! dress: DIY, here

Merry Christmas Thursday: It was a super sunny and unusually warm day in B'ham. The perfect day to bust out my brand new Santa Claus suspenders (thank you, Gatlinburg Goodwill! $1.50 well spent, says me). top and suspenders: thrifted; skirt: vintage; tights: Amazon; shoes: Clarks

I got a plethora of exceptionally good gifts for Christmas (the hubs spoiled me with a half dozen dark chocolate bars and Disney Starwars pins. Don't be jelly). Best gift? This Chewbacca cap and hubs-wannabe beard. I'm thinking the beard will be perfect if ever I decide to dress as van Gogh. Although, I gotta tell ya, I was hairball-coughing up faux beard hair for the rest of the day. Merry, cough-cough, Christmas, y'all! 

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What the Art Teacher Wore #108 Whilst Vacationin', Book Clubbin' and Art Room Preppin'

Hiking Mount Baldy, Walking the Devil's Backbone: I'm never a fashionable hiker. For me, it's all about comfort. But it did crack me up that when I posted a couple of landscape photos from the hike on Facebook, several peeps asked "What dress where you wearing?!" and my first thought was, "I NEED A HIKING DRESS!" Um, no. I don't. t-shirt: Urban Outfitters; hiking pants: sale rack, some hiking store

Well, howdy, friends! I hope your week was a wonderful one. Mine was all kinds of crazy, thanks for asking. We'd been in Southern Cali since last Friday doin' the Disney circuit while squeezing in some serious dining and vintage shopping in between (possible vacay post to come because everyone loves countless photos of someone else's vacation, amirite?!). When we're in California, we love to hike and this hike to the summit of Mount Baldy was our most fun and challenging one to date. I took One Million photos and hubs made a groovy video of the view which I've posted below. It was such an exhaustingly awesome experience.

We returned back to Tennessee at the lovely hour of 2am Wednesday morning which was FANTASTIC as my first day of school was at 8am the very next day. To say I've been a mess every since is an understatement. Speaking of mess, my art room totes qualifies. Normally at this stage of the back-to-school game, I've got my room decked out, lessons practiced, prepped and written and my entire first couple of days scripted (yeah, I know. Dork much?). This go-round, not so much. I'm fired up about the school year (Teach Like a Pirate has me so inspired!) but my feet are still firmly rooted in summer. C'mon, feets. Party over.

Speaking of Teach Like a Pirate, how are my Artsy Book Clubbin' friends doing? I've decided to include our book club chats with my weekly What I Wore because if I try to do more than three blog posts a week I find that I stop washing my hair and cleaning the house (ha, who am I kidding, I gave that up a long time ago!). I also thought it might be fun to literally "chat" with you about the books so you'll find me jibber-jabbering away in a coupla vid clips below. I tried to keep 'em short as I know the sound of my voice is akin to yodeling-cats-in-heat.

Last but not least, I've been LOVING seeing the fabric choices y'all are posting on the Apron Sew-Along Facebook page! After hours of online trolling (yes, hours. Gah, I love me some fabric shopping), I purchased my apron fabric along with some new dress-making prints. I can't wait to share with you what I picked up! For more Apron Sew-Along deets, visit here, kids. 

Until next time, have a super duper week, dudes!

If it's one thing I learned on this hike, it's that I don't love heights. The walk entailed walking along something called the Devil's Backbone which was a ridge with steep drop offs on either side. I tried to keep my eyes firmly on the ground but I could see the crazy cliffs outta my peripheral view. Kinda spooky.

But the views were killer.

My 1970's Album Cover: In my lame attempts to blur out innocent bystanders, I created a rather fuzzy edge to this photo. By the way, my album includes such covers as Come Sail Away by Styx, Sailing by Christopher Cross and every Captain and Tennille masterpiece. dress: Forever 21, old; sandals: Chacos; hat: tourist trap, Charleston 

Hubs and I spent a lil time strolling the beach and the boardwalk at Venice Beach. It wasn't my fave place ever but it was an experience and I do love sand in my toes.

Back to School Thursday: By the way, I didn't always remember to snap daily outfit photos in Cali, hence the week mix up. My eyes are closed in this photo because I'm actually asleep. Whilst standing. It's a practiced and perfected skill. Now if I could only paint eyes on my eyelids, I'd be in business. color wheel dress: SALE! Modcloth; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Crocs

Let's chat Teach like a Pirate! I can't wait to share with you how this book has reshaped my first coupla days back to school.

Freaky Friday: Reality has started to set in. Hence the freaky face. Workin' on revamping how I present my rules and routines to the kids. top: Banana Republic, garage sale; wrap skirt: Funky People, so old I don't remember where I got it; shoes: Frye, Marshall's; necklaces and bangles: thrifted and gifts 

Printmaking Unleashed.

Here's that stitched piece of foam I mentioned in the clip. Kinda digging this idea.

More experimenting on muslin using Printmaking Unleashed techniques.

Saturday School: So I popped in for a couple of hours on Saturday just to get at least one area to a decent state. I'm still working on writing up my rules so for now I've just got them jotted on the board. Proper signs to come...along with a million other things on that To Do list. dress: vintage, thrifted

I found this sign in the sale area at Urban Outfitters and I thought it'd be the perfect addition to the art room. I don't always feel this way...but, like Dave Burgess says in Teach Like a Pirate, sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it. It fits in perfectly in the art room...I'm planning a room tour soon so you'll be able to see where this guy is hung.

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What I Wore #102 on a Charleston Vacay

 Day One of our Charleston Adventure: Knowing that Charleston this time of year is like a fiery inferno, I decided to wear my lightest vintage dresses and my comfiest of walking shoes. Thankfully, being right on the water, there is always a fantastic breeze that keeps you from overheating and sweating. Cuz when that happens to me, I'm usually done for the day. dress: vintage, found on etsy; belt: made by me; sandals: Chacos

Well, hello, long lost friends! I do believe I've said those very same words or similar at the start of each blog post of late. It seems that since summer began a coupla weeks ago, things have sped up around here instead of slowing down. Between a trip home to Indiana, a vacation to Los Angeles with the hubs and this voyage to Charleston with my muthahs, I need a break from this break! I'm ready to start plotting next school year, stitch up some dresses and, well, do nothing. Which is really what I do best.

That all bein' said, I just had to share with you my vacay to Charleston, South Carolina. I'd never been before and I found it to be absolutely amazing. Have you been? We stayed three whole days and managed to cram in so much goodness. I know I searched the interwebs far and wide for what to do...so I thought I'd share what we did so you don't have to do the same when planning your trip to Charleston! Oh and you'll have to lemme know what I missed out on as I'm sure we'll be making a return trip. Which is your fave restaurant (ah, so many choices!), fave beach or fave thing to do? I'd love to hear from ya! Until then, here's our Adventures in Charleston in Three Days!

 Day One: Staying in Charleston is mucho money during the peak season (and it's pretty much always peak season cept for Jan and Feb!). I'm talkin' like $200 a night. We weren't about to do that, we had souvenirs to buy! So we stayed just a couple exits outside of town and rented a car. The traffic was never an issue and there was always plenty of parking...even if you did have to pay for it.

 This photo cracks me up as it sums up Charleston in one shot: palm trees, beautiful homes and America. Our first order of business was a carriage ride. Now, ya'll, I'm not much of a carriage ride kinda gal, but this one was great. We took a 60 minute tour of the city that included Rainbow Row and Battery Park as well as quaint little side streets. We used Palmetto Carriage rides and I'd have to recommend them. They treat their mules so well and our guide was a history major so dude knew his stuff. 

 You can't go to Charleston without getting a big fat hairy history lesson. Much of America's history is not pretty. This town does an excellent job of not sweeping any ugly parts of American history under a rug. Time has stood still in this town and it's like revisiting another era. These colorfully painted houses are on Rainbow Row. These houses were in a pretty sad state until they were purchased by a group of ladies in the 1940s who painted them bright colors and essentially "flipped" them. They've kept their bright colors since.

 After our carriage ride, we hit the City Market which has been going strong since 1804. It's a covered open air market with vendors selling anything from flea market fair (we all picked up a hat quickly realizing that the sun was going to be relentless) to handmade goods. Of course, the market is best known for the artists creating sweetgrass baskets which you can see behind the painted portrait of the woman above. I loved those murals above each entrance to the market's buildings.

 After an incredible lunch at Brasserie Gigi (seriously, the food in Charleston was always amazing!), we decided to walk back to some of the sights we saw on our tour.

 Like St. Philips Church which can be seen from just about anywhere in Charleston and made for a good landmark for us...especially since I have no sense of direction.

 There are seriously churches everywhere in Charleston which is how it got the nickname The Holy City. There wasn't too much of a draw to come to the New World for the Europeans back in the day as getting here meant spending months on a boat with a high chance of death. And even when ya got here, you still had to battle the elements and those other folks that where already calling this place home (another ugly side of American history). However, one big draw was religious freedom. With that promise, many folks did take the leap to come to American with many of them calling Charleston home. This here super sweet pink church is the French Huguenot Church.

We also went through the Old Slave Mart Museum which was incredible. Slave auctions where held inside this museum because the auctioning off of slaves was outlawed in public view. Formerly, people were bought and sold all along this street. Inside this museum, you can hear the actual recordings of former slaves that were recorded by the WPA in the late 1930s. I found this museum so heartbreaking. I don't think you can take a trip to Charleston without going through it.

 After the museum, we strolled down to Waterfront Park and watched the kids playing in the fountains. One of my favorite things about this city are the large beautiful trees. Imagine how much history those trees have lived through!

 My mom and mother in law looking very Laverne and Shirley, my fave rerun as a kid.

We ended our day with a big ole mean at Hominy Grill. Kids, you go there, you order you some okra and shrimp beignets. And fried green tomatoes. Oh! AND shrimp and grits. And don't forget to have desert(s). Amazingly good.

 Day Two: We hit Folly Beach bright and early. It was such a beautiful beach in a fun little beach town. I would go back there and stay longer if I could. dress: vintage, gift from a friend (thanks, Cynthia!) and redone here; belt: made by me, details here

 Folly Beach was a 20 minute drive from Charleston. The pier was a lovely sight.

 Mom and I chatting about who-knows-what.

 A view from the pier.

I somehow convinced my mom to carry all of my stuff. She's got a sweet sherpa thing happening here. This photo cracks me up.

We strolled the beach for a coupla hours before heading in to the town for lunch. We ate at Folly Beach Crab Shack and I swear, the hush puppies were the most amazing thing ever. My moms-in-law spotted this fun place and I had to snap a picture.

 A short drive down the road brought us to Morris Island lighthouse. This nonfunctioning lighthouse is now submerged and the community is attempting to bring it back to it's full glory. Personally, I totally dig it's shabby chic appeal.

 While lighthouse gazing, we spotted a family of dolphins not far from the shore having a big time. This was the highlight of my trip to Folly Beach, it was so sweet.

 See ya, Folly! We spent our afternoon shopping on King Street popping in and out of shops. We also took in the Gibbes Museum of Art which had a fabulous collection of paintings and sculptures that captured the history of Charleston. Then we promptly pigged out at our fave restaurant of the trip Fleet Landing. 

Day Three: So mom and I got this crazy notion that we should walk the 5 mile Cooper River Bridge (aka the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge). In the middle of the morning. On the hottest day of our trip. My moms-in-law, being much smarter than us, opted to go on another carriage ride. Smart woman. The walk was beautiful and hot. 

 No, this isn't the view from the bottom after my mom tossed me over it. I snapped this on our boat tour later in the day. It's this the coolest bridge ever? Sorry Golden Gate. You're cool too.

 That's a lotta walkin'.

 A mom and me selfie attempt.

Once our walk was over and we picked up my not-nearly-as-sweaty-and-exhausted mother-in-law, we hit Dixie Supply Bakery Cafe for a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives experience. This place is definitely a dive (I got the side-eye from my mom when we entered the place) but the food was delish. After that, we headed over to the pier for a boat tour. This here is Fort Sumter as seen from our boat.

Having eaten so much shrimp on this trip, I thought it only right to snap a pic of a shrimp boat being followed closely by a buncha hungry birds. After our boat tour, we dined at Blossom and had the best crab cakes ever. Holy cow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! That evening we did a ghost tour which was really more like a history tour. It was so fun to hear the spooky side of Charleston.

Our flight outta Charleston wasn't until noon, so we popped back into town and enjoyed their Saturday Farmers Market and one last stroll through the historical streets. It was such a fun place with so much to do! I don't think we could have crammed in any more but that's okay. Gives us a reason to go back!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #95 and Edvard Munch

Clay Adventure Monday: This week began the beginning of a two week adventure introducing the entire stinkin' school (all 400+ of 'em) to the Wonderful World of Clay! I absolutely love clay and so do my students. However, it's super hard teaching them in 30 minute increments. That's why I'm dragging it out for two weeks -- I want the kids to have as much time in the mud as possible. I can't wait to share with you all that we're creating! sweater: vintage, Four Seasons Vintage in Knoxville; cat blouse: used, Buffalo Exchange; skirt: thrifted; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina; necklace: Forever39

Oh, hey there, ya'll. Is it just me or does it kinda sorta feel like summer is around the corner? Maybe it's the weather (it's a balmy 80ish degrees here in Tennessee today) and the longer days, but I feel like summerness is nigh. And it has me TOTALLY FREAKING OUT. I've got, like, one million clay projects currently wrapped in plastic bags in the art room (it looks like I'm running a Barbie mortuary what with the little wrapped plastic bags) that all need to be fired, glazed and ready for display in a month. Not to mention all the art projects that were put on hold for said clay madness. I'm a little stressed that the end is so close...we've got so much art to make!

All this craziness has kinda put me in the mind of this painting...

The Scream (of Nature), Edvard Munch, 1893 Did you know that there are four versions created by Munch of this painting/pasteled piece? AND that two out of the four have been stolen (and recovered)  one in 1994 from the National Gallery and another in 2004 from the Munch Museum in Oslo. But it's no wonder as these paintings are worth mega bucks. In fact, The fourth version (pastel, 1895) was sold for $119,922,600. Who has that much coin to drop on a painting, ya'll? I'm guessing it wasn't an art teacher.

So I spent part of my weekend in my sewing room felting away. I've had this old Brooks Brothers dress for years and it was sitting in my "give it to Goodwill" pile until I decided to punch a buncha felt into the thing. Sadly, this might be one of the last felted numbers I do for a while since the temps are on the climb. I can already tell, with the front of this dress being entirely felted, it's gonna be one hot number. Like, literally, ya'll. I'll be Screaming for mercy (pun, unfortunately, intended).

Whilst felting away, I realized, I didn't know all that much about ole Munch. So I thought this week, I'd share with you some of his work and a wee bit of history about the dude. Until next time, have a super fab week, ya'll!

Totally Tuesday: It was teacher appreciation week at my school and I absolutely loved it! Everyday of the week, the kids brought the teachers some sort of awesomeness and Tuesday was flower day. I loved being able to take home an arm full, especially a giant sunflower! necklace: Paper Source; top: used, Buffalo Exchange; skirt: old, Target; mini-palette hair clip: DIY by me

Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm, 1895 You know, cuz that's normal. So, as you might have guessed just looking at Munch's work, he suffered a pretty difficult childhood. Both his mother and a sister died of tuberculosis which left Edvard and his three other siblings to be raised by their father who sounds a wee bit like an odd dude.  Munch wrote, "My father was temperamentally nervous and obsessively religious—to the point of psychoneurosis. From him I inherited the seeds of madness. The angels of fear, sorrow, and death stood by my side since the day I was born" (go here for more details.) 

Vampire, 1895 If I told you that Munch's dad read his children ghost stories and tales by Edgar Allan Poe, would ya believe me? Whenever I see Munch's work, I always think of Poe. I never knew that there was an actual connection.

Ballsy Wednesday: It never fails, every time I wear this necklace (which is often, cuz I loves it), I get the question: Did you make those balls?! I crack up every time. Partly because I have the maturity level of a 12 year old (no lie) and also because, well, I suppose I coulda. I mean, they are felted balls. But I try not to make it a habit to play with my balls. Felted or not. blouse: thrifted; skirt: vintage, Etsy; tights: Target; shoes: old, John Fluevog

Shore with Red House, 1904 While I find Munch's life fascinating (has anyone read this book? Thinking it might be a good summer read) I've never been wild and crazy about his paintings. Granted, when I think of Munch, I usually think of The Scream, Vampire and Kiss (the painting, not the band). And, having seen those paintings so much, it's hard to appreciate them apart from their commercialness. So I scoured the interwebs and found some Munch paintings that I actually loved. Like this one. I love the colors in the foreground and the patterns on the rocks.

Full of Hot Air Thursday: The other day, while walking on the track at my school with some buddies, I swear to you, a hot air balloon almost landed on top of us! I think it mistook our playground for a nearby park. Just when it appeared they were about to land, there was that super loud blow of hot air (you know, what I sound like when I'm talking) and up and away they went. It made for an exciting walk! hot air balloon sweater: Anthro; skirt: Target; tights: dunno

Weeping Nude, 1913 I read that the German Expressionists were greatly influenced by the work of Munch. In fact, I thought Munch was German for the longest time. Dudes from Norway, ya'll, in case you were wondering. I can see the influence, can't you? When I was in college, all angst and stuff, I was In Love with the German Expressionists, particularly Kirchner. And now...not so much. Do you have some odd artist faves from your college days? I know I'm not alone.

Hello, Friday. P.S. My Feet HATE These Shoes: I now keep this cute little fold up pair of ballet flats in my purse for that very reason. Because walking around the art room barefoot is like taking my life into my own hands. blouse: old, Target; skirt: old, Marshall's; evil shoes: Anthro; belt: Target

Workers on their Way Home, 1913 From what, their shift at the local haunted house?! Yikes, this painting is way more frightening than The Scream, don't you think?! And I've never even seen it before. Which just goes to show that artists are so much more than their most famous piece of artwork. 

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